A 16-year-old Bartow boy will be tried as an adult on second-degree murder charges for the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old boy, the state attorney’s office said.

Shaquille Domoniquie Rose of 1420 N. Wilson Ave., Bartow, is being held without bond in the Polk County Jail after a hearing Friday in which he was charged with second-degree murder and shooting a firearm into an occupied dwelling in the killing of John L. Hazelton, 18, on Jan. 12. Previously, Rose was held in the Juvenile Detention Center.

Rose has denied he shot Hazelton.

Rose is being charged as an adult because of the seriousness of the crime. Under Florida statutes second-degree murder falls under a list requiring the state to try the defendant as an adult, said Assistant State Attorney Brian Haas.

“It’s filed that way because of the seriousness of the charge,” he said.

According to police reports and witness accounts, the two teens, who have known each other since childhood, had been arguing earlier in the day. At 8:50 p.m., Rose went to Carver Village Apartments at 1060 S. Golfview Ave. #41 where Hazelton stayed with his older sister, Jontae Hazelton, and his 2-year-old nephew, Jayden. After pounding on the door and summoning Hazelton to come outside, Rose allegedly pulled a .41-caliber handgun and fired two shots; one hit Hazelton in the head, killing him at the scene, the other piercing a hole in the door, police said.

When Rose allegedly held the gun toward Hazelton, he began to slam the door shut and started yelling, “Hold up, hold up.”

Rose later turned himself in to the Bartow Police Department when he heard they had been looking for him. He admitted to police he had an argument with Rose, but he denied he had possession of the firearm or being in the company of Hazelton at the time he died.

During the police investigation Jordan White told officers he had talked to Hazelton and thought Rose came to the house about the argument the two had earlier. White said he saw Rose produce a handgun and knew it was him who pounded on the door. White said he became scared and started to walk away, police reported. It was then he said he heard two gunshots being fired into the residence.

He said he went to his vehicle and it was then Rose got in. Rose allegedly told him to “go, go, just go” and also told officers he was scared of what Rose might do, so he followed his instructions, fleeing from the area. White said he was told to turn onto a side street where Rose got out of the vehicle to throw the gun into some brush on the side of the road, a police report states.

Rose then got back into the vehicle and told White to drive him to another location, reports said. It was then Rose and White separated when Rose called a family member, White told officers.

In a search of the area White described, a .41-caliber weapon was located, reports said.

Rose’s next court date is scheduled for Feb. 21, for an arraignment.